Stakeholders express shock over suspension of national carrier project

The hope of having a national airline has been dashed at least for now as the Federal Government announced suspension of the national airline project

The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika who announced the suspension said the decision taken at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was for strategic reasons.

Many looked up to the  new national airline that was expected to be launched on December 19, 2018 as the hope of matching foreign carriers in the area of reciprocity or as a counter to foreign airlines which make huge revenue from the country.

In 2017, foreign airlines operating to the country raked in a whooping N500 billion in tickets sold.

With 81 domestic and international routes that the carrier was expected to operate to, not a few felt that capital flight out of Nigeria would have been reduced at least by 20 per cent or more.

Sirika, who spoke to newsmen in his office, however did not give details of the “strategic reasons” for the suspension of the project.

He said: “Today the government at the FEC took decision to suspend the national carrier project till further notice.

“It has nothing to do with pressure from stakeholders and it also not for political reasons.

“The decision to come up with national carrier in the first place was as a result of the lack of capacity of the existing carrier to meet demands,” he said.

On the possible thinking of the international interested parties, Sirika said the government had shown serious commitment towards the project, adding that the suspension would not affect government’s credibility before international interested parties.

Until now, the establishment of a national carrier for the country, Nigeria Air, was in top gear as a result of repeated calls from a section of the society.

The airline was scheduled to commence operations on December 19, 2018. The proposed national carrier targeted 81 routes, comprising 40 domestic, regional and sub-regional and 41 international routes.

 Sirika, had in July this year, unveiled logo for the airline for the country in Farnborough, United Kingdom.

The Federal Government, according to Sirika, would only own a maximum of five per cent shareholding and that the venture would be public-private partnership (PPP). Therefore, 95 per cent of the investment would be private-sector driven.

The supposed new national airline according to government would require initial capital of between $150 million and $300 million (aboutN108.2billion) while the government sought a strategic partner to operate the carrier.

“The initial capital is likely to be in the range of $150 to $300 million, invested in tranches over time from start up through the first years of operation,” the government stated.

The government was expected to “facilitate the process for opening up the capital of the airline to private sector financial investors”.

A private operator, sought through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) process, will manage the airline without interference, it said.

The government would not own more than five percent of the new carrier, called Nigeria Air. He made the comments while providing details of the airline at the Farnborough air show in England.

The suspension of the airline jolted many stakeholders who told Woleshadare.net that the decision was a setback to the dream of having a national airline for the country.

Managing Director of TopBrass Airlines, Roland Iyayi stated that it was possible the government suspended the project because it was too close to election year, stressing that investors may not be willing to invest because of uncertainties that might arise.

His words, “I think after election, we are certain they will re-strategise and give it two years time frame”.

Speaking in the same vein, Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Capt Ado Sanusi said anything that does not follow due process will crumble because of his allegation that it did not follow due process.

“They failed to sell their ideas. There was no offices, no structure in place. From the look of things, President Muhammadu Buhari does not believe in air transportation. He is more interested in mass transportation through his massive rail project”.

He further stated that they should not have killed Nigeria Airways, stressing that Buhari was more interested in bringing back Nigeria Airways.

“It would be difficult for investors to bring in their money to put into a project that is not too tidy”, he added.

President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Elder Gbenga Olowo stated that the project was loaded with a lot of suspicion.

“We were left to speculate and we thought it would be a reality because of efforts that were put into it. Despite, the problems, we still gave it hope that it would fly.”

Nigeria, he said needs more than one strong airline, otherwise, it will be a mirage to reciprocate.

“We don’t want a monopoly. We need two strong airlines and give the existing ones strong backing”, he added.

Wole Shadare